Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Wiki Wednesday!

I do as I'm told, so here is my random article from Wikipedia:

Plato was a Greco-Bactrian king who reigned for a short time in Bactria or the Paropamisadae during the mid 2nd century BCE. The style of Plato's coins suggests that he was a relative - most likely a brother - of Eucratides the Great, whose rise to power is dated to around 170 BCE.

Plato probably acted as a co-regent for his brother. Some of his coins have inscriptions which may be interpreted as dates, using the Seleucid era. In that case, Plato reigned 167-165 BCE and was very likely the elder brother of Eucratides, since his coins depict a middle-aged man. Plato's reign also coincided with Persian campaign of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and the two kings share the same epithet: (God) manifest. These are vague indications that the dynasty of Eucratides may have been associated with the Seleucids.

The dating is however far from certain. The numismatician Bopearachchi dates Plato between 145-140 BCE, after the death of Eucratides, and with the scarcity of evidence, any period between 170-140 is possible.

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